First things first — everybody send positive thoughts Soonergrunt‘s way, that his heart surgery (scheduled for this morning) is uneventful and his recovery swift!
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From commentor Daniel K:
Meet Tessie.
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When I found her six years ago, she was literally four days from being euthanized, and the folks at the shelter tried to talk me out of taking her. They said she’s nuts, shits and pisses like it’s her job, barks non-stop, etc. So I played with some of the other dogs at the kennel, but kept walking past her cage checking her out.
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When they agreed to let me play with her, she barked at me, took a leak on my shoe, and then ran in circles chasing her tail like a maniac. But then I thought, look at her – she’s a beauty! So I asked them if I could take her for a walk, and how far I could take her. They told me to leave my drivers license, and go as far as I wanted. And so initially she walked me, for a good 30 minutes, yanking and panting the entire way. Then she stopped, looked around, and realized she wasn’t at the shelter. I remember this look on her face, something like, holy shit I’m free. Then she looked up at me for the first time, jumped up, put both paws on my chest, and started to slobber all over my face.
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Aside from puking in the car on the drive home, she was the most amazing angel in the world. Loving, insta-house trained (literally no accidents evah), amazing disposition, fiercely loyal, snuggly. Here’s a link to a video I made of her (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOEt_kxjebY), introducing her to a friend’s 4-year-old son who lived too far away to meet her in person.
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About a year ago, Tessie developed a bunch of mast cell tumors. She put up a pretty amazing fight, but ending up losing the battle to cancer. Good God, I miss that mutt!
roshan
Sooooooooooooooooner! Take care and get well soon, my friend. The greatest country on earth is working on making you all better. We have still kept Cheney alive!
ChrisS
Awww, what a good looking dog. Sometimes they choose you. That’s the hard thing with pets, they’re gone all too soon.
NobodySpecial
Good luck to sooner and good skill to his surgeons.
SiubhanDuinne
I’ve been thinking about sooner a lot, and hope that after he gets out of surgery he’ll be able to while away some of those recovery hours by reading all the good wishes from his BJ friends. Looking forward to having him back in a very short time!
What a beautiful dog Tessie was! She looks like a real sweetie and I know she’s sorely missed.
I’m crossposting this from a dead open thread because I find it amusing:
I do love catching the good, grey NYTimes in ridiculous errors that somehow escaped writer and editor alike. This howler is from Friedman’s column today:
Sometimes you just can’t unwring that bell.
Keith G
Of course I will be sending out good vibes to Sooner all day.
Daniel K, that photo shows a contented pup who has found her place. Thanks for giving her life. Karma points abound.
demo woman
Sooner our thoughts are with you.
The dog story touched my heart. That was a walk worth taking and Tessie was a lucky dog to find you.
GMA in interviewing Bloomberg. The orange man is up next supposedly with the repub plan.
WereBear (itouch)
Blessings to Tessie! Kudos to Daniel K for seeing the real dog.
On top of everything else, a shelter environment brings out the worst in a potential dog or cat. I like to say “We have to see the True Cat” or dig to know what we are getting.
Linda Featheringill
Tessie! What a pretty girl!
She had an elegance that most dogs don’t have.
I am sure you do miss her. You will probably never have a love like that again.
Linda Featheringill
Ode to SoonerGrunt:
I think that I shall never see
A man like SoonerGrunt.
He is rude and lewd
And totally misconstrued.
And we are patiently waiting for him to bring his grumpy self back.
[XOXOXOXOX]
JCT
Sooner– give em hell!
Daniel — Tessie reminds me of our Trixie. Nothing like being “picked” by a special pet and having such love flow. But you knew she was yours the minute you saw her. Been there, done that.
@roshan – haven’t heard too much about Cheney of late, right? He’s likely getting some epic karmic payback for being such an evil “human” being. Last ditch LVADs are no party.
Svensker
Thinking about ya, sooner. Best wishes.
That Tessie story made me cry. Too sweet.
geg6
Tessie’s story sounds an awful lot like my John’s Otis’ story. Tessie was an absolute beauty and, obviously, a very good dog.
Sooner, I am sending out all my best vibes for you today. Hope that all goes well and you are back with us, snarking and griping in your inimitable way. ;-)
robertdsc-PowerBook & 27 titles
Best wishes today, Soonergrunt.
Cat Lady
Best wishes sooner. You’ve got a lot of people on Team soonergrunt sending positive energy your way. You’ll be fine.
arguingwithsignposts
@SiubhanDuinne:
sometimes only the Mustache of Understanding ™ can deliver.
I was also taken by this:
ETA: get well soon, sg
Joy
Daniel – what a beautiful story. I really believe that once they realize that someone is going to love them forever, they are free to finally love back without fear. I’m sure you miss her each and every day.
Sooner – speedy recovery!
Carnacki
Soonergrunt needs to kick this tumor to the curb cause that’s how he rolls.
Daniel K, you did a beautiful thing.
Wormtown
White light to Sooner.
This pet story and video are amazing. These rescue stories just keep getting better….
To John Cole – I think you should make a book out of the rescue stories. If people buy Sullivan’s book of window shots – wouldn’t they buy a book of heart warming stories and pictures? I read them on this blog over and over again.
Your brood could be the first chapter.
Platonicspoof
Repeating info from Monday:
Also, too sooner on Monday.
TaMara (BHF)
First – good vibes going out to Soonergrunt and I hope we hear good news soon.
Daniel, I always say dogs reflect their owners. Tessie knew a good man when she saw him. Beautiful story, thank you for sharing.
Dog is My Copilot
I watched the video you made of Tessie. She seemed like a very sweet, intelligent dog. One of the most admirable things a person can do is look into the eyes of a dog like that and decide they will take a chance. Shelter dogs are very deserving of good, permanent homes. Rescue groups are often at an advantage because many of their dogs are in foster homes, where temperament can be determined. But shelter dogs are deserving, too! If I had one wish, I would wave my magic wand and give all homeless pets a loving Forever Home. Thank you for sharing your story of Tessie. Gone but definitely not forgotten…
Daniel K
That’s my dog!
Annie — thanks for posting it! I’ve actually never posted a comment here (until now!). The internet scares me — nothing is anonymous, every word you say will find you (hopefully will definitely find some people, like most of the commenters at Politico), etc.
But I figure since you guys were kind enough to send some blog-love Tessie’s way, I’d send some love your way. Love this site. Truly.
Thanks!
Steeplejack
Healing energy to you, Soonergrunt.
Annie
@Daniel K:
Tessie was awesome, and so are you for taking the chance with her. Clearly, you were made for each other.
Sonner — get well soon. Lots of hugs and good wishes.
MaskedBandit
I second a book of rescue stories. I’ve had several rescues, either unofficially (Rufus and Bob were abandoned in front of my parents house) or officially (Ivory and now Jax were from rescues).
Tessie looks a lot like my Ivory did.
Back in 2000, I owned a black German shepherd named Bob that someone had abandoned in front of my parent’s house. I went looking for another dog to keep Bob company while I was in classes and lab. My aunt recommended a German-shepherd rescue in Albuquerque.
There were two German shepherd puppies in the main area of the rescue. One was a little shy and gentle, the other hopping and spinning madly in her kennel run. The white German shepherd in the kennel had just arrived. She’d been owned by an elderly lady who had never owned dogs before, but had wanted to supplement her retirement by breeding an exotic dog. Unprepared for a pet, Ivory had been fed irregularly and kept isolated in a small run until the lady gave her up to the rescue at a year old.
I really didn’t want a hyperactive, unsocialized dog like that. When we introduced Bob to the puppies though, the quiet one growled at him and hid behind the vet. Ivory squeeled loudly, trying to dig under the gate in an effort to play with Bob. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to adopt Ivory.
Ivory was a handful. She was difficult to control, pulling so hard on the leash that she’d choke herself. I tried a choke collar once, but she’d never give the slack you need to use it as a training device. Fortunately, I discovered the Halti harnesses, which dropped her pulling to a minimum.
Still, Ivory was weirdly obsessive. She’d concentrate hard on one thing, giving no attention to anything else, usually getting more and more excited and working herself into a frenzy at it (water, other dogs, a tree, a bird, a shoe, a hose, going for a car ride). It was difficult to break her attention, and it really felt that she wasn’t bonding with me, that she couldn’t care less if I was around.
I started doing dog training and agility training with her. She was darn good at it, and the most difficult part was keeping up with her. If I didn’t call out the next obstacle in time, she’d start doing her own course. The border collies at the course didn’t like her one bit, and herded her into the corner of the course and wouldn’t let her out on her first day. Ivory finally seemed to bond with me, and would actually greet me (in her manic way) when I came home!
About 2 years after getting Ivory, she came inside after playing with Bob in the backyard in a weird manner. She slinked to her dog bed, then cried, then slinked to me. A trip to the emergency vets (1.5 hours away on a Sunday) revealed that she was in terrible lower back pain: her spinal column was kinking and pressing on the spinal cord within. I got a loan for her surgery, and the fixed the problem along with two ruptured discs in her back. The discs were long ruptured and the spinal cord problem had apparently been present since birth. She’d been running agility courses while in enough pain to floor most people.
I was pretty upset that she’d had to suffer for so long. Since there were no behavioral changes, the only evidence I had that she was in pain was that she didn’t like to be brushed. Recovery was hard, as she had to be kept in a crate for 6 weeks, separate from Bob. Fortunately, I worked less than a mile away, and could let her out 4 times a day for potty breaks, food, and water.
After her surgery, her manias diminished, although she never got her marbles back about flowing water. She’d bite at any streams of water, and would bite the hose if she wanted more water at it. (I never had a hose left exposed survive her.) By vet’s orders, she never got to do agility again, although she’d happily “run poles” with a line of bushes in the desert sometimes.
She still sometimes obsessed over things. During a dog walk 4 years ago, she squealed as we passed a small white stray kitten playing in the gutter. I ended up taking the kitten home, where Ivory mothered the poor kitten, giving him regular tongue baths and keeping a watchful eye over his explorations. My cat Nerrin turned out to be quite distrustful of most people, but he loves and plays with his dogs.
When I moved to Salt Lake City, she jumped and ate snowflakes in winter time, and once fell into an ungrated window well after chasing rain drops. She loved walking to the parks that were a short distance from the rental house.
Unfortunately, the exam that revealed her back problem also revealed that Ivory was developing hip dysplasia. My telecommuting job allowed me to take care of her last fall as she lost the ability to go for walks, short walks, then any walks. I used a towel to help her down the three steps to the backyard to the small area of grass that I swept free from snow. When I returned after Thanksgiving, she came back from boarding at the new vet’s with a broken tail. The break gave off a sickly smell of infection and required amputation. While angry that the office didn’t notice or take responsibility for the broken tail, Ivory was developing sores when she leveraged herself up, and couldn’t make it more than across a room before falling. There was no way I was going to make her suffer through an amputation.
There were no more good days for her. With the help of my boyfriend, we gave her the best day possible: took her on a trail, a short run, and a dog walk while assisting her with a towel; giving her tasty, organic canned dog food; and giving her plenty of rubs and petting. It was a beautiful day, a warm day in the 60s before a cold front that would bring snow for weeks. That evening, we took her to be put down. I held her head as she was put to sleep on December 1, 2009. Ivory was 10 years old.
ruemara
@MaskedBandit:
OK, crying now, tyvm.
Candle lit and good vibes sent to sooner.
Danielk, Tessa sounds like an awesome dog who knew what she needed in a home.
Remember November
good on ya for looking beneath the fur to find the friend inside.
asiangrrlMN
@MaskedBandit: That’s a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it. My condolences to you on the loss of a good friend.
@Daniel K: Tessie is beautiful. Thank you for seeing the beauty inside as well as out and for letting her live her life being loved.
soonergrunt, white light beaming in your direction. You are in my thoughts and my heart. Be well.
Ally
You’re an amazing human being for seeing past Tessie’s behaviors at the shelter, and giving her many wonderful happy years.
Devon Cole
She is/was absolutely beautiful. Your post made me cry. Hugs to you for giving her freedom and a great life.